Erie sweeps Hartford, while the Flying Tigers winning streak is snapped at 12 games

Buffalo Bisons 8, Toledo Mud Hens 5 (Fri)(box)

Buffalo Bisons 8, Toledo Mud Hens 2 (Sat)(box)

Toledo Mud Hens 7, Buffalo Bisons 3 (Sun)(box)

The Mud Hens were able to salvage one game of their three-game set against the Bisons on Sunday.

On Friday, starter Bryan Sammons was chased after 3 ¹⁄₃ innings with four runs allowed, Matt Wisler took over and cleaned up the fourth, but in the fifth he was tagged for a three-run homer, putting this one nearly out of reach.

Tyler Nevin and Johan Camargo each hit solo shots in the fourth and fifth, respectively. But the offense didn’t really break through until the eighth. Justyn-Henry Malloy led off the top half with a walk and Colt Keith reached on an error. A wild pitch advanced them, and them three straight walks and a Camargo ground out followed, pushing across three runs. That was as close as they’d get.

Nevin: 1-2, 2 R, RBI, HR, 2 BB

Camargo: 1-3, R, 2 RBI, HR, BB

Sammons (L, 0-2): 3.1 IP, 4 ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 2 SO

Zach Logue was chased in similar fashion to Sammons on Saturday. Malloy hit his 15th home run on the year in the first inning off of Hyun-Jin Ryu to give Logue a slim lead, but he immediately coughed it up, allowing three runs in the bottom of the first and one more in the second inning. Ashton Goudeau and Braden Bristo struggled in relief, each giving up two runs. Parker Meadows hit his 13th home run of the season in the sixth with no one aboard.

Malloy: 2-4, R, RBI, HR

Meadows: 1-4, R, RBI, HR, SO

Keith: 1-3, BB

Logue (L, 2-7): 3.1 IP, 4 ER, 9 H, 0 BB, 2 SO

Joey Wentz struggled pretty badly in this one, but managed to limit the damage. He was also staked with a huge lead after the Mud Hens opened the scoring with a six-spot on the Bisons in the third inning.

Meadows got it started with his 21st double to lead off the inning. Nick Solak singled him home and Colt Keith followed with a walk. Tyler Nevin singled to load the bases, and Joe Rizzo followed with a two-run double. Donny Sands lifted a sacrifice fly to bring home Nevin from third. A pair of walks followed to re-load the bases, and a John Valente ground out scored Rizzo. Meadows reached on a ground ball that went for an error, allowing the sixth run of the inning to score.

Wentz allowed a solo shot in the bottom half to make it 6-1 Hens. He’d allow one more run before departing in the fifth.

In the eighth, Valente was hit by a pitch to open the inning. Meadows singled, and then Solak doubled home Valente to make it 7-2. Keith then lined out to center, scoring Meadows from third, but it was ruled that Meadows left third base early and he was called out. That brought manager Anthony Iapoce out for some angry words until he was ejected. Miguel Diaz allowed a run in the bottom half, but this one was in the bag.

Solak: 3-5, R, 2 RBI, 2B

Meadows: 2-4, R, RBI, HR, 2B, BB, SO, SB

Rizzo: 2-5, R, 2 RBI, 2B

Wentz: 4.2 IP, 2 ER, 8 H, 3 BB, 3 SO

Coming Up Next: The Hens come back home to welcome in the Lehigh Valley IronPigs on Tuesday at 7:05 p.m. ET. It is Hens and Hounds night, btw.

Erie SeaWolves 3, Hartford Yard Goats 0 (Fri)(box)

Erie SeaWolves 1, Hartford Yard Goats 0 (Gm1)(F/7)(Sun)(box)

Erie SeaWolves 9, Hartford Yard Goats 2 (Gm2)(F/7)(Sun)(box)

The SeaWolves’ offense didn’t get loose until Sunday, but they were able to strangle the Yard Goats in a three-game sweep with really strong efforts from the pitching staff.

On Friday, it was Joe Lockhart giving Erie five shutout frames as they built an early 3-0 lead. Dillon Dingler singled in Trei Cruz, playing centerfield in this one, in the first inning, while Andrew Navigato doubled in Justice Bigbie in the third. Wenceel Perez was thrown out trying to score on the play, but he cranked a solo shot in the sixth for the SeaWolves’ third run of the evening.

Layne Henderson handled the sixth with three strikeouts despite allowing a hit and a walk. Two of the Tigers best up-and-coming relief prospects took it to the house from there. Ty Mattison spun two perfect frames with a pair of punchouts, while lefty Andrew Magno collected the save, allowing a walk, but striking out two.

Perez: 2-4, R, RBI, HR

Navigato: 2-4, RBI, 2B, SO

Dingler: 1-4, RBI, SO

Lockhart (W, 2-0): 5.0 IP, 0 ER, H, 2 BB, 5 SO

After rain washed them out on Saturday, the series concluded with a Sunday doubleheader. Game 1 saw Sawyer Gipson-Long shut out the Yard Goats with six strikeouts and no walks allowed. Adam Wolf and Blake Holub closed the door with a perfect inning apiece.

The SeaWolves couldn’t do much offensively either. Joe Rock allowed just two hits, though four walks issued gave Erie some opportunities they missed on. Finally in the fifth, Ben Malgeri hit his eighth home run of the season for what became the game winning run.

Malgeri: 1-1, R, RBI, HR, BB, SB

Gipson-Long (W, 6-5): 5.0 IP, 0 ER, 4 H, 0 BB, 6 SO

Game 2 finally saw the SeaWolves’ offense get loose, while Keider Montero gave them another excellent start.

Singles from Perez and Navigato got Perez to third where he scored on a wild pitch in the first inning. Montero allowed a run in the second, but in the third, Perez launched his second home run of the day to make it 2-1 Erie. We can hope that the back problems he’s dealt with since late last season are starting to abate.

Navigato followed Perez with a double and scored on a Jake Holton single to make it 3-1, and the SeaWolves never looked back. Montero allowed one more run, but he also struck out nine to just one walk and five hits for the Goats.

The SeaWolves got another run in the fifth and then blew the game open with a five-run sixth inning. They loaded the bases on two walks and a single, and Navigato cleared them with a three-run double. The SeaWolves went on to add two more runs to close this one out.

Notably, outfielder Daniel Cabrera, who was sent back to Lakeland from Erie for some instructional work and then spent time with the Flying Tigers, returned to the SeaWolves with a new stance and did have a double in this one.

Perez: 3-3, 3 R, RBI, HR, BB

Navigato: 3-4, 2 R, 3 RBI, 2 2B

Montero (W, 8-2): 5.0 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, BB, 9 SO

Coming Up Next: The SeaWolves head to Binghamton to take on the Rumble Ponies on Tuesday night at 6:35 p.m. ET.

Lansing Lugnuts 8, West Michigan Whitecaps 1 (Fri)(box)

West Michigan Whitecaps 3, Lansing Lugnuts 2 (Sat)(box)

West Michigan Whitecaps 4, Lansing Lugnuts 2 (Sun)(box)

After a bit of a thrashing on Friday, the Whitecaps got some strong pitching performances to stifle the Lugnuts’ offense and take the series with victories on Saturday and Sunday.

Garrett Burhenn had a rough go on Friday, giving up a four-run third inning that sank his outing. Meanwhile the offense blew a good scoring chance in the first, and then a baserunning mistakes from Josh Crouch in the second cost them another scoring opportunity. They loaded the bases in the fifth but Jace Jung grounded out to end the inning. Finally, in the sixth, Eliezer Alfonzo walked with one out and Izaac Pacheco doubled him to third. A Crouch ground out scored Alfonzo, but that was all they’d get. The Lugnuts beat up on the bullpen and cruised to victory.

Mendoza: 2-4

Campos: 2-4, SO

Pacheco: 2-4, 2B, 2 SO

Burhenn (L, 4-5): 4.0 IP, 4 ER, 5 H, BB, 3 SO

The tide turned on Saturday, as a mediocre but effective start from Troy Melton kicked off a good day for the Whitecaps’ pitching staff. Melton allowed a run over four innings of work, striking out two with no walks allowed. Elvis Alvarado allowed a run in the seventh, but otherwise the bullpen was rock solid.

After Melton allowed a run in the top of the first, the Whitecaps came right back with Jace Jung tripled with two outs in the bottom of the first. Roberto Campos singled him home to tie the game. Singles from Pacheco and Luis Santana scored Campos to make it 2-1. A Brady Allen solo shot, his 11th, made it 3-1 Whitecaps, and Melton and the pen did the rest.

Allen: 2-4, R, RBI, HR

Campos: 1-3, R, RBI, BB, SO

Jung: 1-3, R, 3B, BB

Melton: 4.0 IP, ER, 6 H, 2 SO

The Whitecaps only collected three hits on Sunday, but they walked five times and stole five bases, outscoring the Lugnuts anyway.

Carlos Mendoza led off the bottom of the first with a walk and stole second base. Jung walked as well, and Campos then drilled an opposite field home run to make it 3-0 Whitecaps.

The Lugnuts came back with two runs in the top of the second against Williander Moreno. That was all they’d get as the Whitecaps ran out six relievers, each of whom spun a scoreless frame. Campos singled in Mendoza in the eighth for the final run of the game.

Campos: 2-4, R, 4 RBI, HR, SO

Jung: 1-2, R, 2B, 2 BB

Moreno: 3.0 IP, 2 R, ER, 5 H, BB, SO

Coming Up Next: The Whitecaps head to South Bend to take on the Cubs on Tuesday night at 7:05 p.m. ET.

Lakeland Flying Tigers 14, Tampa Tarpons 12 (Fri)(box)

Lakeland Flying Tigers 4, Tampa Tarpons 3 (F/10)(Sat)(box)

Tampa Tarpons 11, Lakeland Flying Tigers 5 (Sun)(box)

The Flying Tigers 12-game winning streak finally came to an end on Sunday, but it was quite a run stretching back to June 29.

Friday’s victory was a wild back and forth affair. Lakeland scored two in the second but Tampa came right back with a five-run second inning, knocking Ulices Campos out of the game.

In the fourth, three hit batters and two walks led to a six-run inning that put the Flygers on top for good, but they needed add-on runs to stay there. They got them in the sixth, when Seth Stephenson led off the top half with a double, Luke Gold was hit by a pitch again, and Andrew Jenkins walked. Jose De La Cruz blasted a grand slam to right field that made it 12-7.

Mike Rothenberg doubled in Jenkins in the seventh for what would become the eventual game winning run as the Flying Tigers bullpen leaked some late runs. De La Cruz doubled in Stephenson in the top of the ninth, and reliever Max Alba barely held the lead in the bottom half. The game ended with Rothenberg gunning down Jesus Rodriguez trying to steal third base.

De La Cruz: 3-6, R, 6 RBI, HR, 2B, 2 SO

Jenkins: 3-5, 3 R, RBI, 2 2B, BB, SO

Stephenson: 2-6, 2 R, RBI, 2B, SO

Another mediocre outing from Jackson Jobe didn’t get Lakeland off to a good start on Saturday, but they eventually stormed back to win in 10 innings.

Jobe wasn’t terrible, but three strikeouts in four innings and a three-run homer allowed didn’t impress anyone. A De La Cruz singled that scored Gold in the first gave him an early lead, but it was 3-1 Tampa when Tanner Kohlhepp took over for four outs. The bullpen overall had a strong day, and they were rewarded.

In the seventh, Archer Brookman singled with one out and J.D. McLaughlin drew a walk. Back-to-back wild pitches scored Brookman to make it 3-2 Tampa. Finally in the ninth, McLaughlin scored on a wild pitch, tying the game. Abel Bastidas singled in De La Cruz in the 10th, and Cleiverth Perez got three quick ground balls to keep Tampa off the board.

Gold: 3-4, R, BB, SB

Bastidas: 2-5, RBI, 2B, SO

Brookman: 2-4, R, 2B

Jobe: 4.0 IP, 3 ER, 4 H, 0 BB, 3 SO

Starter Garrett Apker was rocked for eight runs on Sunday, making a comeback too tall an order to keep the winning streak alive. After allowing five runs in the first inning, the Flying Tigers fought back. Carlos Pelegrin singled home Manuel Sequera in the second. A three-run shot from Rothenberg in the third made it 5-4 Tampa. In the fourth, Seth Stephenson led off with a bunt single, stole second, and then advanced to third and home on a pair of wild pitches from Tampa’s Hayden Merda, tying the game. Unfortunately, Apker was rocked for three more runs in the fifth, and Tampa cruised to victory.

Bastidas: 2-4, SO

Rothenberg: 1-4, R, 3 RBI, HR, 3 SO

Apker (L, 0-3): 4.1 IP, 8 ER, 7 H, 2 BB, 3 SO

Coming Up Next: The Flying Tigers are in Dunedin to take on the Blue Jays on Tuesday night at 6:30 p.m. ET.